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Saint-Germain Cycle series
Blood Games.png Hotel Translyvania.png In the face of Death.jpg Flame in Byzantium.jpg Saint-Germain series by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro Genres and Sub-Genres Vampire Fiction / Historical Vampire Horror / Series Description or Overview A historical horror series about the vampire Count de Saint-Germain. There are two corollary series: Olivia, Madelaine. Books in Series Saint-Germain series: # Hotel Transylvania (1978) # The Palace (1979) # Blood Games (1979) # Path of the Eclipse (1981) # Tempting Fate (1981) # The Saint-Germain Chronicles (1983) — collection of shorts and novellas # Darker Jewels (1993) # Better in the Dark (1993) # Mansions of Darkness (1996) # Writ in Blood (1997) # Blood Roses (1998) # Communion Blood (1999) # Come Twilight (2000) # A Feast in Exile (2001) # Night Blooming (2002) # Midnight Harvest (2003) # Dark of the Sun (2004) # States of Grace (2005) # Roman Dusk (2006) # Saint-Germain Memoirs (2007) # Borne in Blood (2007) # A Dangerous Climate (2008) # Burning Shadows (2009) # An Embarrassment of Riches (2011) # Commedia Della Morte (2012) # Night Pilgrims (2013) (with T A Bradley) # Sustenance (2014) — collection of shorts and novellas Shorts, Novellas, Anthologies and Guides Count of Saint-Germain short fiction * Seat Partner (1979) * Cabin 33 (1980) * Art Songs (1981) * The Spider Glass (1981) * Renewal (1982) * Investigating Jericho (1992) * Intercession (2003) * A Question of Patronage: A Saint-Germain Story (1994) * A Gentleman of the Old School (2005) * Harpy (2007) * Lost Epiphany (2008) * Tales Out of School (2008) Madelaine de Montalia * Out of the House of Life (1990) * In the Face of Death (2004) Atta Olivia Clemens * A Flame in Byzantium (1987) * Crusader's Torch (1988) * A Candle for D'Artagnan (1989) World Building Settings * Bk-1: 1740s Parisian society * Bk-2: Florence in the time of Lorenzo de Medici and Botticelli, * Bk-3: Nero's Rome * Bk-4: 13th century China * Bk-5: across Europe during the Russian Revolution, end of World War I * Bk-6: from 18th century England to 20th century America * Bk-7: court of Russia's Ivan IV * Bk-8: 937 A.D. The Saxon fortress of Leosan * Bk-9: seventeenth-century Peru, Incan priestess, Holy Inquisition * Bk-10: 1910 England and Germany—secret peace mission for Czar Nicholas * Bk-11: 14th-century France, village of Orgon—Black Plague * Bk-12: seventeenth-century Rome, the center of power for the Catholic Church * Bk-13: eastern Spain in the early 600s—new gods of Christianity and Islam * Bk-14: fourteenth-century Delhi, India under Mongul attack by Timur's forces * Bk-15: Gaul, 800 AD., court of Charlemagne the Great * Bk-16: California during the Great Depression * Bk-17: 6th century Asia—volcanic eruption causes massive Tidal waves * Bk-18: Venice, as a he successful merchant attracts Inquisition attention * Bk-19: Rome when it is crumbling * Bk-20: 1817, Switzerland—time of Napoleon * Bk-21: (collection) from ancient Greece to the present * Bk-22: Czarist Russia, time of Peter the Great * Bk-23: isolated monastery as Huns attack (Eastern Europe, between the 1st & 7th century) * Bk-24: Court of Kunigunde in Bohemia in the 1200s * Bk-25: during France's Revolutionary Tribunal * Bk-26: Holy Land churches, southern Egypt * Bk-27: Paris, late 1940s ~ More details: Count Saint-Germain (vampire) - Wikipedia Supernatural Elements Vampires, sorcerer, alchemist, alchemy, satanists, ghouls, unearthly gems, . . . Book Cover Summaries ✤ BOOK ONE—Hotel Transylvania (1978): A fixture in 1740s Parisian society, Saint-Germain is a perfect gentleman--and a vampire. When the fiery young Madeline falls in love with him, a group of evil sorcerers targets her for their black mass—and only Saint-Germain can save her soul. ~ Goodreads | Hotel Transylvania (Saint-Germain, #1) ✾ Le Comte de Saint-Germain—cultured, well-traveled, articulate, elegant, learned, honorable, an alchemist, and a man of many secrets—he is a mystery to the court of Louis XV. For Madelaine de Montalia, making her debut in society, he is as fascinating as he is enigmatic, an admiration he returns. But others are interested in her as well. The dark folly of her father's youth exposes her to danger that only someone of Saint-Germain's vast experience can comprehend or repulse. In this first book of the Saint-Germain cycle, Saint-Germain establishes himself as the compassionate hero whose adventures span continents and millennia. ~ [ Shelfari] ✤ BOOK TWO—The Palace (1979): Set in Florence in the time of Lorenzo de Medici and Botticelli, who appear as characters. ~ Wikipedia ✾ The anticipated paperback release of the second title in Yarbro's long-running Saint-Germain series featuring immortal vampire Francesco Ragoczy da San Germano. Secluded in his Renaissance Florence palace, he falls for a beautiful courtesan and loses all desire for isolation. ~ Goodreads | The Palace (Saint-Germain, #2) ✾ They say his palazzo is to be a magnificent work of art-a dazzling edifice to rival the most opulent in the city. Its owner is a stranger to Florence, a wealthy foreigner who dresses in black silk and practices the age-old secrets of alchemy. But the man who calls himself Francesco Ragoczy da San Germano conceals his own dark secrets that have exiled him to a life of blood-filled torment and eternal wandering. Yet in the sensation-craving Estasia, cousin to Botticelli, San Germano has found a woman whose unquenchable passions could exceed his own. And in the fanatical monk Savonarola, he has found a powerful enemy: a dangerously obsessed ascetic who exerts a hypnotic power over the citizens of Florence. Savonarola is embarked on a reign of terror that will not end until every thing of beauty is destroyed and every heretic burned at the stake. As the city becomes a hotbed of religious fervor and escalating violence, San Germano is faced with an impossible choice that could doom those he loves forever...and transform his own existence beyond recognition. Peopled by such unforgettable real-life figures as the de Medicis and Sandro Botticelli, THE PALACE evokes Renaissance Italy in all its dangerous glory, as it weaves a darkly erotic spell of love, power, obsession and seduction that will keep you in thrall until the stunning conclusion. ~ Shelfari ✤ BOOK THREE—Blood Games (1979): Blending the dark eroticism of the vampire with the suspenseful adventure in history's most exotic locales, Yarbro's Saint-Germain epic continues in this third book that takes place in the last chaotic days of Nero's Rome. ~ Goodreads | Blood Games (Saint-Germain, #3) and ~ Shelfari ✤ BOOK FOUR—Path of the Eclipse (1981): There is trouble in 13th century China. A wind blows from the west and has a name—Jenghiz Khan. Pledged to help a beautiful woman warrior, St. Germain has a terrible secret—he has the power to bestow death or eternal life as a vampire. ~ Goodreads | Path of the Eclipse (Saint-Germain, #4) ✾ Fourth of the Saint-Germain novels. This saga takes Saint-Germain from China to India over the Himalayas. "Invading Mongols have created a political atmosphere of anti-foreign paranoia. The Count, with his Western appearance and odd ways, is subject to suspicion, so he leaves the capital in order to help an unusual woman. Chih-Yu is a young Warlord, desperate to save her people from the Mongol hordes. Ignored or rebuffed by the military authorities, she is ready to turn to one strange foreigner for aid... but her heart leads her to far more than she expects. After leaving China, Saint Germain has a brief stay at a lamasery in Tibet, where he meets a wise—and surprising—Master.... Prevented by the Mongol threat from travelling on in his journey to regain his Hungarian homeland, the vampire is forced to ask hospitality of an Indian Rajah. The Rajah places Saint Germain in the household of his eccentric and scholarly old maid sister, Padmiri. However, the Rajah's daughter, Tamasrajasi, is a power-hungry and bloodthirsty devotee of Kali, and things cannot remain peaceful for long." ~ [ Shelfari] ✤ BOOK FIVE—Tempting Fate (1981): Europe 1920s. Fifth in the Saint-Germain series, Tempting Fate finds the count as guardian to a Russian war orphan during the Russian Revolution and the end of World War I. As he travels across Europe with his adopted daughter, he encounters three women—all of whom will alter his tormented destiny: a duchess who will lead him into fateful temptation, a young widow who plunges him into an abyss of corruption and obsessive desire, and Madeline de Montalia—the women for whom Saint-Germain will risk eternity to protect. Driven by his insatiable need for this woman who shares his terrible secret, Saint-Germain will commit a final, desperate act that could doom the lovers to a world of everlasting damnation. ~ Goodreads | Tempting Fate (Saint-Germain, #5) ✾ Fifth in the Saint-Germain series, Tempting Fate finds the count as guardian to a Russian war orphan during the Russian Revolution and the end of World War I. As he travels across Europe with his adopted daughter, he encounters three women—all of whom will alter his tormented destiny: a duchess who will lead him into fateful temptation, a young widow who plunges him into an abyss of corruption and obsessive desire, and Madeline de Montalia—the women for whom Saint-Germain will risk eternity to protect. Driven by his insatiable need for this woman who shares his terrible secret, Saint-Germain will commit a final, desperate act that could doom the lovers to a world of everlasting damnation. ~ Shelfari ✤ BOOK SIX—The Saint-Germain Chronicles (1983): Stories and novellas that range widely in time and place, from 18th century England to 20th century America. Sixth book published in this series. Story list: Art Songs; Cabin 33; My Favorite Enigma (essay); Renewal; Seat Partner; Spider Glass. ~ Goodreads | The Saint-Germain Chronicles (Saint-Germain, #6) and Shelfari ✾ In five stories set in the 19th and 20th century, St. Germain explores various parts of his life. The final story, "Cabin 33", is the latest story in the canon, set at a dude ranch in the American West owned by St. Germain and Roger, and concludes with St. Germain and de Montalia deciding to see if they can break with vampire tradition and live together as husband and wife. ~ Wikipedia ✤ BOOK SEVEN—Darker Jewels (1993): Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's immortal vampire, the Comte de Saint-Germain, is one of the most popular characters of his kind ever created. Publishers Weekly has called him a "veritable Prince Charming of the darker arts." In Darker Jewels the Count is sent by the King of Poland to the court of Russia's Ivan IV, to use his alchemical skills to craft unearthly gems for the mad emperor. There he finds not only dark intrigue and heart-stopping danger, but a breathtakingly beautiful woman to whom he loses his heart. ~ Goodreads | Darker Jewels (Saint-Germain, #7) ✾ and ~ Shelfari ✤ BOOK EIGHT—Better in the Dark (1993): Here at last is a long-hinted-at chapter in the undead existence of the immortal Count Saint-Germain: the story of Ranegonda of Saxony, one of the three great loves of Saint-Germain's life. ~ Goodreads | Better in the Dark (Saint-Germain, #8) by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists ✾ Here at last is a long-hinted-at chapter in the undead existence of the immortal Count Saint-Germain: the story of Ranegonda of Saxony, one of the three great loves of Saint-Germain's life. 937 A.D. The Saxon fortress of Leosan is under the almost unheard-of rule of a woman. The Gerefa of the fortress has become a monk, leaving his sister, Ranegonda, to rule in his name as best she can--and to deal with his embittered, headstrong wife as well. Into this tense and dire situation comes Saint-Germain. Shipwrecked on the Baltic shore, near the true death, he is found by Ranegonda, whom he will come to love for the gift of blood she gives him, and for her own indomitable spirit. ~ [ Shelfari] ✤ BOOK NINE—Mansions of Darkness (1996): Ambitious in its scope and provocative in its content, the saga of Count Saint-Germain is a monumental feat of the imagination. Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's powerful and evocative novels have captured Saint-Germain throughout his long existence, from the temples of ancient Eygpt to our present century. Now the count's endless travels bring him to seventeenth-century Peru, where he finds solace for his loneliness in the arms of an Incan priestess. But mighty Spain has conquered the Incan people--and brought the dreaded attention of the Holy Inquisition to the New World. ~ Goodreads | Mansions of Darkness (Saint-Germain, #9) ✾ For nearly two decades, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro has recorded the undying existence of the Count Saint-Germain, a centuries-spaning feat of the imagination that rivals The Vampire Chronicles of Anne Rice. Now the Count's endless travels bring him to 17th-century Peru, where he finds passion in the arms of Acanna Tupac—daughter of the ancient Incan royalty—and attracts the dreaded attention of the Holy Inquisition ~ GR ✤ BOOK TEN—Writ in Blood (1997): 1910: The great powers of Europe are united by ties of blood, but divided by conflicting ambitions and alliances. Now residing in Russia, Saint-Germain accepts an urgent commission from Czar Nicholas to deliver a top-secret peace proposal to the Czar's kinsmen, King Edward VII of England and Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany. The Czar dares not trust his own ministers: only through Saint-Germain can he hope to avert the coming war. But the Count's mission attracts dangerous enemies, most notably Baron von Wolgast, a scheming manufacturer of munitions who sees no profit in peace. Employing a network of spies and assassins, Von Wolgast plots against Saint-Germain, and when the Count becomes involved with Rowena Saxon, an independent-minded young artist, she too becomes a target of the Baron's malevolence. ~ Goodreads | Writ In Blood (Saint-Germain, #10) ✾ Ambitious in its scope and provocative in its content, the saga of the undying Count Saint-Germain is a monumental feat of the imagination. Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's novels have powerfully captured Saint-Germain throughout his long existence, from the temples of Ancient Egypt to our present century. Now, on the verge of the First World War, Saint-Germain accepts a top-secret assignment from Czar Nicholas of Russia to deliver one last proposal for peace to the crowned heads of Europe. But powerful men plot against Saint-Germain--and may use his love for a talented young artist against him. ~ GR ✤ BOOK ELEVEN—Blood Roses (1998): In 14th-century France, Saint-Germain is caught amidst the devastation of the Black Plague. Though he is unaffected by the disease, his resistance draws the suspicion of each new town he visits—even as he uses ancient Egyptian healing techniques to save lives. Yarbro's impressive novel offers the flavor of the late Middle Ages while flawlessly integrating the elements of horror and the supernatural that mark this eloquent series. One wonders, for example, if the letters and documents that Yarbro integrates into the text are embellishments of the real. But, as with all the Saint-Germain novels, the most satisfying aspect of the narrative is the author's complex rendering of her central character. ~ Goodreads | Blood Roses (Saint-Germain, #11) ✾ The Comte de Saint-Germain is living in relative peace and prosperity in the village of Orgon in fourteenth-century France. He has won a grudging acceptance from the local populace, who are uneasy with his strange and foreign ways but appreciative of his generosity. But a new threat has upset the precarious balance: Plague has come to France, and the people's fear turns to xenophobia. To avoid the scrutiny that could reveal his true nature, Saint-Germain must flee. However, his travels drive him deeper into the heart of the Black Death—and danger. ~ GR (paperback) ✤ BOOK TWELVE—Communion Blood (1999): In the Count's latest adventure, Communion Blood, Saint-Germain finds himself on the way to seventeenth-century Rome, the center of power for the Catholic Church. Niklos Aurilios, the long-time servant of Olivia Clemens, may lose Olivia's estate to a young German who claims to be the son of Olivia's fictional husband. Saint-Germain must use all of his wiles and diplomatic skill to preserve Olivia's will without revealing his true nature. ~ Goodreads | Communion Blood (Saint-Germain, #12) ✾ Olivia Atta Clemens, Saint-Germain's love from the days of Imperial Rome, has died the True Death and left her lavish estates to her servant, Niklos Aurilios, but they have been claimed by a young noble who says he is the long-lost son of Olivia's dead husband. Saint-Germain may not be able to convince a court of Niklos's rights without revealing Olivia's true nature, and therefore, his own. ~ GR (paperback) ✤ BOOK THIRTEEN—Come Twilight (2000): Come Twilight begins in eastern Spain in the early 600s, when Saint-Germain makes a vampire of the headstrong Csimenae. In the next 140 years, as Spain is controlled first by the the Visigoths and then by Moors, Csimenae becomes a mother of vampires. Though he will regret it for centuries to come, Saint-Germain must act against her. ~ Goodreads | Come Twilight (Saint-Germain, #13) ✾ Beginning in the 600s, Spain's old blood rituals of animal sacrifice were replaced by the new gods of Christianity and Islam, who demanded no less obedience and allegiance. Saint-Germain becomes trapped in this cauldron of blood, fear, and faith when, he makes a vampire of the beautiful, haughty, tempestuous Csimenae. Csimenae kills without mercy. She makes vampires without a second thought; and they, For five hundred years, as waves of war and religion sweep over Spain, Csimenae hunts until her marauding, willful ways expose her vampiric nature. Saint-Germain's centuries of life have taught him that to fall out of step with history is to risk the True Death, a fate Saint-Germain wishes for none of his kind. He must try to save Csimenae-and her clan-but at what price? ~ GR (paperback) ✤ BOOK FOURTEEN—A Feast in Exile (2001): A Feast in Exile draws readers back to the time when the Mongol hordes of Timur (known in the West as Tamerlane) swept across fourteenth-century India and Asia. Delhi's civilized veneer crumbles along with its walls. Foreigners, which the vampire Saint-Germain-here called Sanat Ji Mani-surely is, lose their positions, homes, wealth, and sometimes their lives, if they cannot escape the falling city. Before he can flee Delhi, Sanat Ji Mani must ensure the safety of Avasa Dani, his beautiful ward, who has been abandoned by her husband. Sanat Ji Mani's love has awakened Avasa Dani's every sense; even she will become a vampire upon her death, but she finds no terror in this fate. Avasa Dani and Rojire, Sanat Ji Mani's servant, successfully make their way out of Delhi, but Sanat Ji Mani himself is trapped. His life is bought by his skills with medicine, but, at Timur's command, he must travel-by day, and exposed to the sun-with the conqueror's army. Crippled and unable to escape, he knows that his vampire nature will soon be revealed, and then... Avasa Dani, with a worried Rojire at her side, considers her options as a woman without a visible male protector in a land and time ruled by men. While one of Sanat Ji Mani's allies searches desperately for the missing vampire, Saint-Germain and a young acrobat, with whom he has escaped from Timur's forces, make their slow and painful way to freedom. The journey changes them both forever. ~ Goodreads | A Feast In Exile (Saint-Germain, #14) ✾ ~ (paperback) ✤ BOOK FIFTEEN—Night Blooming (2002): Set in the court of Charlemagne the Great, this is the 15th novel in the popular series about the immortal vampire, Le Comte de Saint-Germain, who meets an albino woman afflicted with stigmata who is accused of witchcraft. ~ Goodreads | Night Blooming (Saint-Germain, #15) ✾ It is Gaul, 800 AD. Rakoczy de Santus Germainius is ordered by the Frankish conqueror Karl-lo-Magne to lead a suspected heretic before a Papal inquisition. Passion blooms between the cursed vampire and Gynethe Mehaut, a beautiful albino afflicted with stigmata. ~ Shelfari ✤ BOOK SIXTEEN—Midnight Harvest (2003): Fleeing Spain at the beginning of their Civil War, the vampire Saint-Germain arrives in California to reunite with the older and wiser Rowena Saxon, who is considering following the Dark Prince into an eternal life. Meanwhile, Saint-Germain is unaware that a ruthless assassin is pursuing him—one of the most charming killers ever to grace the page: Cenere. Unbelievably smooth and utterly inhumane, Cenere has trailed Saint-Germain across oceans and continents, killing anyone in his way, including those under Saint-Germain's protection. But will Saint-Germain finally awaken to the danger that threatens him before all he loves is lost?- The Aspect relaunch program of the popular Saint-Germain vampire series has added two new original hardcovers and brought back to print the original first three novels.- "Hotel Transylvania (Aspect, 9/02) has sold over 26,000 paperback copies. "Night Blooming (Aspect hardcover, 10/02) will be published simultaneously in Warner paperback in 9/03. "The Palace will be published in Warner paperback in 3/03.- The Saint-Germain series will appeal to the same audience that has made national bestsellers of Anne Rice and Laurell K. Hamilton.- The author has been nominated for the Edgar Award. the World Fantasy Award, and the Bram Stoker Award. ~ Goodreads | Midnight Harvest (Saint-Germain, #16) ✾ From the Chronicles of Saint-Germain comes book 16 in the long-running vampire series which brings the Dark Prince to California during the Great Depression. Fleeing Spain at the beginning of their Civil War, the vampire Saint-Germain arrives in California to reunite with the older and wiser Rowena Saxon, who is considering following the Dark Prince into an eternal life. Meanwhile, Saint-Germain is unaware that a ruthless assassin is pursuing him-one of the most charming killers ever to grace the page: Cenere. Unbelievably smooth and utterly inhumane, Cenere has trailed Saint-Germain across oceans and continents, killing anyone in his way, including those under Saint-Germain's protection. But will Saint-Germain finally awaken to the danger that threatens him before all he loves is lost? ~ [ Shelfari] ✤ BOOK SEVENTEEN—Dark of the Sun (2004): It is the 6th century of the common era. The vampire Saint-Germain, known in this time as Zangi-Ragozh, is peacefully doing business in Asia when the island of Krakatoa explodes in a massive volcanic eruption. Tidal waves swamp harbors hundreds of miles away, destroying trade ships and their cargoes; tons of ash and dirt are flung into the air. In the months to come, the world grows colder and darker as the massive volcanic cloud spreads across the globe, blocking sunlight. Sea trade is ravaged. Crops fail. Livestock, and then people, begin to starve. Disease spreads. Panic rises. As always in times of trouble, foreigners-and the vampire is always a foreigner-become targets. Fleeing toward the West, where he hopes to find safety and sanity, the vampire travels with a nomadic tribe led by Dukkai, a female shaman who soon becomes Zangi-Ragozh's lover. But Zangi-Ragozh's problems are far from over. His vampire nature is discovered by an enemy; he begins to starve; he is betrayed by one he cared deeply for; he loses everything, even his last sack of his native soil. With the True Death looming, Zangi-Ragozh tries to reach sanctuary in his ancient homeland. Transylvania. ~ Goodreads | Dark of the Sun (Saint-Germain, #17) ✾ It is the 6th century of the common era. The vampire Saint-Germain, known in this time as Sangi-Ragozh, is peacefully doing business in Asia when, unknown to him-or anyone else in most of the world-Krakatoa explodes in a massive volcanic eruption. The island is nearly completely destroyed; tidal waves swamp harbors hundreds of miles away, ravaging trade ships and their cargoes; tons of ash and dirt are flung into the air. In the months to come, the world grows colder and darker as the massive cloud of dust and ash spreads across the globe, blocking sunlight. Sea trade is ravaged. Crops fail. Livestock, and then people, begin to starve. Disease spreads. Panic rises. What has caused the sun to go dark? With his scientific bent, Sangi-Ragozh suspects a natural cause, but most people assume a supernatural explanation-and begin to seek supernatural remedies. As always in times of trouble, foreigners-and the vampire is always a foreigner, wherever he travels-become targets. Fleeing toward the West, where he hopes to find safety and sanity, the vampire travels with a nomadic tribe led by Dukkai, a female shaman who soon becomes Sangi-Ragozh's lover-and main source of sustenance. But Sangi-Ragozh's problems are far from over. His vampire nature is discovered by an enemy; he is separated from Dukkai and begins to starve; he has lost everything, including his last sack of his native soil. With death no longer a distant possibility, Sangi-Ragozh desperately tries to reach sanctuary in the one place he truly belongs-his homeland, the country he first left centuries earlier. A land we now call Transylvania. ~ [ Shelfari] ✤ BOOK EIGHTEEN—States of Grace (2005): It is the time of the Reformation. Henry VIII's England moves toward schism; Luther's precepts spread through Europe even as the Inquisition strives to wipe out any hint of heresy. Franzicco Ragoczy di Santo-Germano-the vampire Saint-Germain-is a successful merchant based in Venice. His lavish lifestyle and rumored cache of magnificent jewels have attracted the wrong sort of attention, and without Santo-Germano's noble-and papal-connections, he might be imprisoned, his property confiscated. Also under surveillance is his mistress, the lovely and talented musician Pier-Ariana Salier. In the Spanish Netherlands, Ragoczy's publishing business is being investigated by the Inquisition. Coming to the aid of his employees, Ragoczy becomes tarred with the brush of heresy, as does Erneste van Amsteljaxter, a writer whose intelligence Ragoczy finds attractive. Ragoczy does what he can to help her, but must return to Venice when he learns that his fortune there has been embezzled away and that Pier-Ariana has disappeared. In Venice, things are worse than Santo-Germano expected. Not only has his money disappeared, so has a young man who had been spying on the vampire and his mistress. Santo-Germano is accused of kidnapping and perhaps murder. Another spy has discovered Santo-Germano's true nature and intends to kill him before he can feast on all of Venice! ~ Goodreads | States of Grace (Saint-Germain, #18) Franzicco Ragoczy di Santo-Germano is a successful merchant in Venice. His lavish lifestyle and rumored cache of magnificent jewels have attracted the wrong sort of attention, and without Santo-Germano’s noble—and papal—connections, he might be imprisoned, his property confiscated. Also under surveillance is the vampire’s mistress, the lovely and talented musician Pier-Ariana Salier. Elsewhere, Ragoczy’s publishing business is being investigated by the Inquisition. Erneste van Amsteljaxter, a writer whose intelligence Ragoczy finds attractive, is tarred with the brush of heresy. Ragoczy is trying to help her, when he learns that Pier-Ariana has disappeared. Back in Venice Santo-Germano finds that his fortune has been embezzled, and that he is accused of kidnapping, and possibly murdering, a young man who had been spying on the vampire and his mistress. Another spy has discovered Santo-Germano’s true nature and intends to kill him before he can feast on all of Venice!. ~ Shelfari ✤ BOOK NINETEEN—Roman Dusk (2006): Rome is crumbling. The child-emperor, Heliogabalus, diverts the Roman populace with parties, circuses, and celebrations, while his mother and grandmother jockey for power behind the scenes. The government is riddled with scandal and no business is conducted without bribes which grow ever larger. Religions joust for prominence, with factions of Christians seeking to overthrow the ancient Roman pantheon. Courtesans, once honored for their skills and protected by special guards, have become targets of opprobrium. The vampire Ragoczy Germanius Sanct' Franciscus, already subject to extra taxes and regulations because he is a foreigner, falls under the maleficent eye of Telemachus Batsho, a minor functionary who dreams of power and wealth. When Franciscus thwarts his attempts to extort ever-increasing sums from a young Roman of good birth, Batsho swears revenge. Franciscus finds his activities closely monitored and is accused of treason and conspiracy. His friends, threatened with similar scrutiny, abandon him to Batsho's mercies or urge him to leave the Eternal City. But Franciscus has many ties to Rome. He has taken under his protection a beautiful courtesan who was brutally beaten by the very men who should have been protecting her. She has been the vampire's sustenance for many months. Franciscus is also held in the city by the plight of the family Laelius. The Domina's health is failing despite the vampire's great medical skills; her son has converted to Christianity and rails against his mother's beliefs; her daughter Ignatia, who has sacrified her own life to care for her mother, realizes that when her mother dies, her fate will rest in the hands of her increasingly fanatical brother. Determined to claim pleasure for herself, Ignatia invites Franciscus's attentions, inflaming him with the power of her untapped sexuality. Unfortunately, they are not unobserved, and their simple yet powerful act of love sparks a conflagration that destroys Ignatia's family and nearly brings about the vampire's True Death. ~ Goodreads | Roman Dusk (Saint-Germain, #19) ✤ BOOK TWENTY—Saint-Germain Memoirs (2007): The year is 1817. In Switzerland, the Count Saint-Germain leads a comfortable life with his paramour Hero whose husband died fighting Napoleon. Saint-Germain's loving kindness cannot keep Hero from missing her children who are being raised by their hard-hearted grandfather. The Count has become intrigued by the work of an Austrian noble investigating the properties of blood, a subject always of key interest to a vampire. But when the noble's beautiful ward fixates sexually on the Count, the vampire fears for himself and his gentle lover. With Borne in Blood, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's saga of Count Saint-Germain, reaches a milestone--the twentieth volume of the vampire's adventures. The Saint-Germain cycle is one of our age's most compelling bodies of work of dark fantasy and horror, and the longest running series of vampire novels. Historically accurate, these deeply emotional novels have a devoted readership. Recognizing her impact on the genre, the International Horror Guild named Chelsea Quinn Yarbro a Living Legend at the World Fantasy Convention in 2006. ~ Goodreads | Borne in Blood (Saint-Germain, #20) ✤ BOOK TWENTY ONE—Borne in Blood (2007): Focusing on Saint-Germain--one of the genre's most memorable vampires--this collection follows the dark immortal from ancient Greece to the present as tales of his timeless life are recounted. Also included is a brief essay by the author about her world-renowned vampire, with an Introduction by Sharon A. Russell. ~ Goodreads | Memoirs (Saint-Germain, #21) ✾ Saint-Germain is one of the genre's most memorable vampires. In this collection, follow the dark immortal from ancient Greece to the present as the tales of his timeless life are recounted. Also included is a brief essay by the author about her world-renowned vampire, with an Introduction by Sharon A. Russell. ~ Shelfari ✤ BOOK TWENTY TWO—A Dangerous Climate (2008): The vampire Count Saint-Germain, disguised as a missing Hungarian nobleman, is on a spy mission in the heart of Czarist Russia. Almost by the power of his will alone, it seems, Peter the Great is wrestling the city that will one day be St. Petersburg out of swampland. Representatives of the heads of all European states are living in tiny, frigid, wooden homes as they jockey for power and influence over the Czar. When a man shows up claiming to be the Count Saint-Germain, the vampire must figure out how to protect his title and wealth without revealing either his true identity or his True Nature. ~ Goodreads | A Dangerous Climate (Saint-Germain, #22) ✾ The vampire Count Saint-Germain, disguised as a missing Hungarian nobleman, is on a spy mission in the heart of Czarist Russia. Almost by the power of his will alone, it seems, Peter the Great is wrestling the city that will one day be St. Petersburg out of swampland. Representatives of the heads of all European states are living in tiny, frigid, wooden homes as they jockey for power and influence over the Czar. When a man shows up claiming to be the Count Saint-Germain, the vampire must figure out how to protect his title and wealth without revealing either his true identity or his True Nature. ~ Shelfari ✤ BOOK TWENTY THREE—Burning Shadows (2009): Two decades strong, the Saint-Germain cycle is one of the most compelling works of dark fantasy and horror of our age. Historically accurate, these deeply emotional novels have a devoted readership. In Burning Shadows, Yarbro looks at the legendary Huns from the perspective of the people who faced the brunt of their attacks. The vampire Saint-Germain seeks sanctuary at an isolated monastery, unwilling to abandon the hundreds of terrified villagers he has led in flight from the Huns. A few Roman soldiers and some village Watchmen are the monastery’s defense force—and they are undermined by the religious fervor of some of the monks, who argue that since everyone’s fate is in God’s hands, it is foolish to defend themselves. In the hothouse atmosphere of the high-walled monastery, Saint-Germain must take special care when slaking his vampire thirst, for discovery of his True Nature will result in his True Death. ~ Goodreads | Burning Shadows (Saint-Germain, #23) ✾ Two decades strong, the Saint-Germain cycle is one of the most compelling works of dark fantasy and horror of our age. Historically accurate, these deeply emotional novels have a devoted readership. In Burning Shadows, Yarbro looks at the legendary Huns from the perspective of the people who faced the brunt of their attacks. The vampire Saint-Germain seeks sanctuary at an isolated monastery, unwilling to abandon the hundreds of terrified villagers he has led in flight from the Huns. A few Roman soldiers and some village Watchmen are the monastery’s defense force—and they are undermined by the religious fervor of some of the monks, who argue that since everyone’s fate is in God’s hands, it is foolish to defend themselves. In the hothouse atmosphere of the high-walled monastery, Saint-Germain must take special care when slaking his vampire thirst, for discovery of his True Nature will result in his True Death. ~ Shelfari ✤ BOOK TWENTY FOUR—An Embarrassment of Riches (2011): In An Embarrassment of Riches, the vampire Count finds himself a virtual prisoner in the Court of Kunigunde in Bohemia in the 1200s. Rakoczy Ferncsi, as Saint-Germain is known, passes his days making jewels to delight Queen Kunigunde and trying not to become involved in the Court's intrigues. In this, the vampire fails. Handsome, apparently wealthy, and obviously unmarried, he soon finds himself being sexually blackmailed by Rozsa, an ambitious lady-in-waiting. If he does not satisfy her, she will denounce him to the priests and he'll be burned at the stake, resulting in his True Death. Despite his care, the vampire makes more than one enemy at the Bohemian Court, and by the end of An Embarrassment of Riches, the Count can see only one road to freedom...through death. ~ Goodreads | An Embarrassment of Riches (Saint-Germain #24) ✾ ~ [ Shelfari] ✤ BOOK TWENTY FIVE—Commedia Della Morte (2012): In Commedia della Morte, Saint-Germain learns that Madelaine—now a vampire—has been arrested by France's Revolutionary Tribunal and is soon to lose her head. Desperate to rescue her, the Count sneaks into France with a troupe of actors led by the glamorous Photine, who soon becomes Saint-Germain's mistress. Photine's teenage son, driven by jealousy and revolutionary fervor, betrays the Count. Now Saint-Germain's life, as well as Madelaine's, hangs in the balance, in this darkly romantic historical vampire novel. ~ Goodreads | Commedia della Morte (Saint-Germain #25) ✾ Of all the women the Count has loved, the most popular is the beautiful, ever-youthful Madelaine. In Commedia della Morte , Saint-Germain learns that Madelaine—now a vampire—has been arrested by France's Revolutionary Tribunal and is soon to lose her head. Desperate to rescue her, the Count sneaks into France with a troupe of actors led by the glamorous Photine, who soon becomes Saint-Germain's mistress. Photine's teenage son, driven by jealousy and revolutionary fervor, betrays the Count. Now Saint-Germain's life, as well as Madelaine's, hangs in the balance, in this darkly romantic historical vampire novel. ~ Shelfari ✤ BOOK TWENTY SIX—Night Pilgrims (2013) (with T A Bradley): In Night Pilgrims, Saint-Germain is living in a monastery in Egypt when he is hired to guide a group of pilgrims to underground churches in southern Egypt. The vampire finds a companion in a lovely widow who later fears that her dalliance with the Count will prevent her from reaching Heaven. The pilgrims begin to fall prey to the trials of travel in the Holy Lands; some see visions and hear the word of God; others are seduced by desires for riches and power. A visit to the Chapel of the Holy Grail brings many quarrels to a head; Saint-Germain must use all his diplomacy and a good deal of his strength to keep the pilgrims from slaughtering one another. ~ Goodreads | Night Pilgrims (Saint-Germain, #26) ✾ The vampire Count Saint-Germain has crisscrossed the world many times, seeking love and the blood of life and seeing humanity at its best and worst. (the rest is the same) ~ Shelfari ✤ BOOK TWENTY SEVEN—Sustenance (Dec 2014): The vampire Count Saint-Germain protects Americans fleeing persecution—and becomes trapped in a web of betrayal, deceit, and murder in post-WWII Europe in Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s SUSTENANCE. The powerful House Un-American Activities Committee hunted communists both at home and abroad. In the late 1940s, the vampire Count Saint-Germain is caught up in intrigue surrounding a group of Americans who have fled to postwar Paris. Some speak out against HUAC and battle the authorities. Saint-Germain swears to do his best to protect his friends, but even his skills may not be able to stand against agents of the OSS and the brand-new CIA. And he has an unexpected weakness: his lover, Charis, who has returned to Paris under mysterious circumstances. ~ Goodreads | Sustenance: A Saint-Germain novel by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro ✾ and ~ Shelfari Category:Series